McDonough, Georgia

History

The town was named for naval officer Commodore Thomas MacDonough and founded in 1823 around a traditional town square design. The buildings surrounding the square are intact, although there are some vacancies. The county courthouse and historic jail building are on the north side near the Welcome Center in a historically maintained Standard Oil service station, built in 1920. The station also houses the Main Street Program Office and Hospitality and Tourism Office. In the center of the square is a monument to Henry County's Confederate dead.

One block east of the square, the town's original cotton warehouse has been replaced with the Henry County Judicial Center. In the same area the Henry County Courthouse Annex has an original oil on canvas "Cotton Gin" (4½ by 11 feet) by artist Jean Charlot. He painted this oil in 1942 for the town post office. His works can be found all over the world in everything from children's books to large murals.

The town was a relay station on the New York to New Orleans stagecoach line and was connected by other stage lines with Fayetteville and Decatur, and with Macon by way of Jackson.

On June 24, 1900, a washout during a thunderstorm caused a train wreck about 1½ miles (2.4 km) north of town. The runoff undermined about 100 feet (30 m) of the Southern Railway (Macon division) prior to the accident, and the passenger train subsequently caught fire, killing 39.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.9 square miles (33 km²), of which 12.7 square miles (33 km²) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km²) (1.6%) is water.

Transportation

McDonough is served by the following highways:

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 8,493 people, 3,069 households and 2,102 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,093.8 per square mile (422.6/km²). There were 3,234 housing units at an average density of 416.5 per square mile (160.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.4% white, 34.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 1.8% from other races, and 1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.7% of the population.

There were 3,069 households of which 35.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% were married couples living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.14.

26.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 34.1% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.

The median household income was $40,482 and the median family income was $46,818. Males had a median income of $34,669 versus $28,318 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,029. About 9.6% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.3% of those under age 18 and 18.3% of those age 65 or over.

Although it is considered to be located in Stockbridge many of the Eagle's Landing Country Club's homes are within McDonough's 30253 zip code.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 22,084 people, 8,053 households, and 5,404 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,737.4 inhabitants per square mile (670.8/km²). There were 9,063 housing units at an average density of 713.6 per square mile (275.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 34.8% white, 58.2% black or African American, 1.8% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 2.2% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 6.1% of the population.

Of the 8,053 households, 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.3% were married couples living together, 23.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.9% were non-families, and 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.25. The median age was 33.1 years.

Media

WKKP is the local radio media outlet. It broadcasts 24 hours a day on 100.9 FM and 1410 AM, and has a classic country format. It also broadcasts AP network news at the top of each hour.

The Henry Herald and the Henry County Times are the local county news print media.

Industry

Snapper Inc. manufacturing residential and professional lawn care and snow removal equipment, was based in McDonough. The company began in 1894 as Southern Saw Works, and claims to have invented the first self-propelled rotary lawn mower. The company was sold to Briggs and Stratton, which operated the plant until its closure in 2015.

Goya Foods has its Atlanta offices in an unincorporated area near McDonough.

Events and festivals

The city hosts a Geranium Festival each springtime on the third Saturday in May, celebrating the locally grown flowers and community. The one-day festival serves as a showcase of local artistry and talent through the open-air craft markets and live musical performances. The festival is sponsored by the McDonough Lions Club, and held on the McDonough Square. 2009 marks the 32nd anniversary of the festival.

Film

Henry County School District

The Henry County School District holds grades pre-school to grade twelve. The district has twenty eight elementary schools, nine middle schools, and ten high schools. The district has 1,543 full-time teachers and over 40,000 students.

Online schools

Higher education

Notable people